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SBA lending by industry

88 industries with enough SBA loans to say something useful. What a typical loan looks like in yours, and how often they go wrong. Each page now also covers the 504 side — the CDCs that fund property and equipment in that industry, and how their loans perform.

Bottom line — Industry matters, but less than the specific brand or borrower. By loan count, default rates run from about 1% to 17% across industries, with the median industry at 5.3%. Which industry you are in matters far less for default risk than which specific brand or borrower you are — franchise brands alone range from 0% past 60%.

88 industries

click a column to sort
Industry Loans Typical loan Typical term Default rate
Full-Service Restaurants87,747$203k10 yr7.0%
Offices of Lawyers77,155$120k10 yr5.2%
All Other Specialty Trade Contractors62,786$100k10 yr5.7%
Offices of Dentists56,080$185k10 yr3.6%
Beauty Salons41,752$145k10 yr5.9%
Landscaping Services35,087$100k10 yr6.2%
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload30,971$50k7 yr7.4%
General Automotive Repair30,864$150k10 yr5.7%
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores25,631$240k10 yr5.7%
Residential Remodelers23,706$65k8 yr8.4%
Other Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers22,586$200k10 yr6.4%
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers20,714$231k10 yr7.1%
Other Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers14,931$153k10 yr6.9%
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels14,704$1.7M25 yr1.5%
Child Day Care Services13,720$273k10 yr3.4%
Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers13,249$222k10 yr3.5%
Sports and Recreation Instruction11,455$129k10 yr6.0%
Machine Shops9,928$270k10 yr4.0%
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages9,272$150k10 yr3.9%
All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores)9,250$85k7 yr7.3%
Used Car Dealers8,903$185k10 yr7.2%
Retail Bakeries8,091$150k10 yr5.8%
Women's Clothing Stores7,608$75k7 yr8.7%
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses 7,201$100k8 yr8.3%
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores7,200$827k25 yr2.4%
Pharmacies and Drug Stores7,134$200k10 yr6.6%
Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production6,349$341k12 yr2.4%
Other Building Material Dealers6,051$212k10 yr4.7%
Sign Manufacturing5,810$165k10 yr6.2%
Solid Waste Collection5,407$150k10 yr3.4%
Breweries5,110$202k10 yr3.4%
Motor Vehicle Towing5,011$100k10 yr6.2%
Sporting Goods Stores4,990$88k7 yr7.9%
All Other Miscellaneous Retailers4,905$150k10 yr7.5%
Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books)4,896$150k10 yr5.4%
Other Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing4,845$150k10 yr4.8%
Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly4,632$580k25 yr1.9%
All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing4,501$250k10 yr4.1%
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction4,304$150k7 yr4.9%
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers4,107$75k10 yr7.5%
Investment Advice4,021$250k10 yr1.8%
Furniture Stores3,640$150k10 yr7.6%
Limousine Service3,142$55k7 yr11.3%
Motion Picture and Video Production2,697$81k10 yr6.1%
Wood Kitchen Cabinet and Countertop Manufacturing2,519$150k10 yr5.6%
Couriers and Express Delivery Services2,515$150k10 yr7.0%
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers2,477$130k10 yr8.7%
All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing2,247$225k10 yr5.1%
Pharmacies and Drug Retailers2,110$225k10 yr6.6%
Other Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing2,052$250k10 yr4.3%
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores2,043$1.3M25 yr2.4%
Paint and Coating Manufacturing2,021$271k10 yr4.6%
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing1,901$270k7 yr5.0%
All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing1,770$350k10 yr3.7%
Electronics Stores1,707$100k7 yr11.8%
Nursery and Tree Production1,703$125k10 yr4.5%
Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing1,667$250k10 yr4.3%
Furniture Retailers1,640$201k10 yr9.1%
Support Activities for Animal Production1,626$127k9 yr3.5%
Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing1,582$145k9 yr8.0%
All Other Telecommunications1,546$150k7 yr5.5%
Software Publishers1,524$100k7 yr6.3%
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers1,339$150k8 yr9.3%
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services1,269$150k10 yr3.4%
Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations1,251$200k7 yr4.6%
All Other Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing1,188$250k10 yr5.2%
Logging1,106$90k7 yr4.2%
All Other General Merchandise Stores1,079$50k7 yr9.1%
All Other General Merchandise Retailers1,067$100k10 yr8.4%
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems829$150k10 yr4.1%
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers810$150k10 yr7.5%
Iron and Steel Pipe and Tube Manufacturing from Purchased Steel796$256k10 yr3.9%
General Warehousing and Storage762$300k10 yr3.7%
All Other Information Services761$100k7 yr5.3%
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining549$150k7 yr6.6%
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water524$120k10 yr3.4%
Offices of Other Holding Companies512$350k10 yr1.1%
All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills492$125k9 yr3.7%
All Other Converted Paper Product Manufacturing482$308k10 yr3.7%
Shellfish Fishing416$95k10 yr2.9%
Software Publishers406$150k10 yr6.3%
Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation330$300k10 yr7.2%
Radio Stations330$221k10 yr5.3%
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals317$175k10 yr5.0%
Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills285$150k8 yr6.3%
Business Associations284$78k10 yr4.0%
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing258$92k8 yr5.6%
Asphalt Paving Mixture and Block Manufacturing215$250k10 yr4.8%
Source SBA 7(a) FOIA Released 2026-06-30 All loans 5.7% default rate